Posts Tagged ‘Jewish Heritage’

The Muslim-Jewish Dialogue (MJD) has organized a reception for non-Arab Ajmi Muslims at Baycrest, the Jewish community’s leading edge gerontology and geriatric facility in Toronto, in recognition of May’s Jewish History Month in Ontario.

Tariq Khan, on behalf of Muslim guests, said, “Muslims and Jews are cousins. and I am very glad today we are jointly marking the Jewish Heritage Month. Islam and Judaism share a common origin through Prophet Abraham and thus, both are considered Abrahamic religions. One of the common teachings in both religions is to serve humanity selflessly.”

He maintained that throughout Muslim history, “whether in Khilafat-e-Rashida (The Pious Caliphate), Umayyad Dynasty, Abbasid Empire, Muslim Spain or Ottoman Era, there is no record of any religion based armed conflict found between the two. Muslims and Jews lived in relative peace with one another all over the world, and Muslim Spain is still considered as the Golden Era for Jews.”

“The Palestinian conflict has nothing to do with religion, and it was initiated by communist Arab rulers,” according to Khan. “Instead of welcoming the Jewish people who came back to their holy land which was lost 2,000 years ago and joining hands with them to serve humanity together, so-called Arab nationalist rulers invaded the modern state of Israel.

“To get sympathies and support of Muslims living all over the world, the communist rulers of the Arab world, shamelessly converted their adventurism into a religious battle between the two faith communities. No doubt, God is kind and never supports unjust; they were defeated. Now, it is time for Muslims to understand the facts, recognize the reality and work together with their Jewish cousins to make this planet hate-free and a wonderful place for everyone,” concluded Khan, who is editor of Weekly Press Pakistan.

Mark Adler, local member of Parliament for the Government of Canada and who is involved in the Jewish community, offered full assistance to the group to expand good relations between the two religious communities.

The Muslim and Jewish guests toured the current display in a museum on the main floor of the Baycrest. The exhibition features sacred and secular head gear from all over the world, worn by Jews and non-Jews.

This article was written by Andrea Spindel for the Tazpit News Agency.

I write this in memory of my father, Lyle B. Federman, who was killed on April 21, 1998, the victim of police misconduct.

My father grew up with little to no Jewish tradition. No Shabbat. No Passover. No Menorah. No Kosher. He spent much of his life searching for an identity. He eventually discovered and embraced his Jewish heritage at an Oglala tribal meeting on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

My father had no interest in Judaism. He strived for a belief system that was all-inclusive. Connected with nature. With a social justice mission. Those values were reinforced by his exposure to the countercultural and environmental movements of the late 60’s.

He found those values in the Native American way of life. His began his journey by providing aid for food and clothing on the poverty stricken Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He also volunteered at the sobriety meetings to fight the rampant alcohol and drug abuse. Soon he started practicing Native American rituals like the sweat lodge (or ceremonial sauna) and learning the traditions and history.

Eventually he was called to a tribal meeting where he would be formally inducted into the Oglala Lakota tribe. At the meeting, the tribal elders asked my father what he had observed on the reservation.

“I observe two kind of Indians,” my father explained. “One with short hair, head down, drunk and ashamed of who he is; and one with long hair, head up, sober and proud of his people.” The elders nodded in approval.

They asked my father about his ancestry. My father explained that he was Jewish. The tribal leader paused, squinted in thought, and said: “There are two kinds of Jews. One with his head down, ashamed of who he is; and the other with his head up and proud of who he is.” He continued, “be that Jew who is proud of who he is.” That was the most transcendental moment in my father’s life.

But what does it mean to be proud of your heritage? Is that ethnocentric? Even supremacist? The Torah was given on a small mountain to teach one to be humble toward others. To recognize and value other peoples way of life. If that is so, then why wasn’t the Torah given on flatland? Wouldn’t that be an even greater metaphor of humility? It was given on a small mountain to teach that one should still have pride but that pride should be measured and humbled.

My father then traveled to Berkley California where he came in contact with Chabad-Lubavitch, a Jewish outreach organization. He started learning Jewish philosophy, observing the Holidays and eventually married an Orthodox woman – my mother, a direct descendant of the Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared May “Jewish American Heritage Month”.

In a ceremony kicking off the month, the president praised Jewish Americans for bearing “hardship and hostility” with the “deep conviction that a better future was within their reach”.

He also noted the achievements and national contribution of Jewish Americans such as Supreme Court Jusice Louis Brandeis, physicist Albert Einstein, and writer and art collector Gertrude Stein.

“Our country is stronger for their contributions, and this month we commemorate the myriad ways they have enriched the American experience,” Obama said.

The first Jewish American Heritage Month occurred during the presidential term of George W. Bush. It was introduced by Jewish Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D- FL) and passed in December 2005.

In Washington DC, events for Jewish American Heritage Month will take place at the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Gallery of Art, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Events will also take place in various locations throughout the United States.

The Flea Theater will present a reading of “The Vandal” by Hamish Linklate (best known as Matthew in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine) on April 3 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, with Golden Globe winners Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman and Outer Critics Circle nominee Noah Robbins.

“The Vandal” is set on a frozen night in Kingston, New York, where a woman (Weaver) who’s lost everything tags her name on Death’s door.

Linklater told Playbill magazine that “the play is about how we live and the stories we tell ourselves when we’re haunted by the people we’ve loved and lost.”

Dynow

Cleaning works are underway on the grounds of the Jewish cemetery in Dynow. The works are being carried out by the members of the local Town Sport Club “Dynovia” in cooperation with the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland.

Dynow – Cleaning the undergrowth in the Dynow cemetery

Jewish Calendar For The Year 5770

We are happy to inform you that a new Jewish calendar for the year 5770 is available at the Foundation’s office. Richly illustrated, the calendar gives the hours of beginning and ending of Shabbat and Festivals for Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Wroclaw and Budapest. All interested parties are invited to contact us at fodz@fodz.pl.

Calendar – The cover of the newly published calendar for 5770

Zuromin

On July 15, 2009, a ceremony commemorating the Jewish community of Zuromin took place at the local Jewish cemetery on Zeromskiego St. Participating were over 100 guests, among them representatives of the Jewish community, local authorities, descendants of the Jews from Zuromin and inhabitants of the town. The ceremony, related to the recent renovation of the cemetery, was organized by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland.

Zuromin – Ceremony in front of the gate of the restored cemetery in Zuromin

Galicia Jewish Museum Receives Mezuzot

During the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, on Friday 3 July 2009 a ChanukatHaBayit ceremony took place at the Galicia Jewish Museum to affix mezuzot to the museum entrances. The mezuzot were donated by the Fundusz Michaela H. Traisona dla Polski, and affixed by Michael Traison and Jonathan Webber, Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. Chief Rabbi of Krakow, Rabbi Boaz Pash, also attended the ceremony.

Israel Artist Builds Mock Kibbutz In Heart Of Polish Capital

Construction of a mock Israeli kibbutz began last week in the heart of the Polish capital, Warsaw. The unprecedented art installation is the brainchild of Israeli video artist Yael Bartana and is to serve as the set of the second in her trilogy of films focused on the symbolic revival of Jewish life in Poland after the Holocaust.

While Bartana usually focuses on Israeli-Palestinian issues, the current project uses imagery from the Middle East to address the history of Polish Jews.“In this film we are concentrating on the moment when Jews are coming actually back to Poland,” Bartana said.

Kibbutzim are collective communities based on agriculture, originally built by Jewish settlers from Europe in the land of Israel in the early 20th century, well before the May 1948 Declaration of Independence by the modern-day state of Israel.

Before the Shoah there were Kibbutzim set up in Poland by Zionist youth groups to train young Jews to work in agriculture, preparing them to move to Israel.

Bartana’s grandparents, as Jewish immigrants to pre-state Israel prior to World War II, had no direct experience of the Holocaust. But the idea for the kibbutz installation arose after a visit to Poland in 2006.

“I went to different cities and communities where Jews used to live and I came up with the idea that it would be really fantastic to revive the Jewish spirit,” she said.

“What does it bring to the collective memory? What does it mean for the Israelis, what does it mean for Jews, what does it mean to the Poles? And I wanted to kind of cross over emotional elements.”

As I have reported many times over the past 12 years that I have been writing this column, one of the major problems in Poland today, even greater then anti-Semitism, is the poor condition of Jewish historical sites. Many of the cemeteries are overgrown and synagogue buildings are in disrepair.

Lack of funds is one of the major reasons for this sorry state but even when money is available manpower is often not available.

Last week a unique solution to the problem of manpower was realized, a solution that can serve as a model for other countries where there is a similar problem. But it will only work if it is in a country that is at least sympathetic to Jewish history, culture and memory as is the case with Poland.

The Polish Government and the Warsaw-based The Foundation For the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland have signed an unprecedented cooperation agreement under which prison inmates will help to refurbish Jewish historical sites throughout the country. The deal that was linked between Poland’s Central Board of Prisons Service and the Foundation is believed to be the first of its kind in Europe.

The program will make use of funds provided to Poland by the European Union under a program, which sponsors a variety of projects for those serving time in the correctional system.

Inmates From 85 Polish Jails Expected To Take Part

“The agreement is based on the idea that prisoners will help to maintain and fix up Jewish cemeteries and other historical Jewish sites as part of their rehabilitation process,” Foundation CEO Monika Krawczyk said.

“It will also involve an educational component, such as teaching them about Jews and Jewish history in Poland,” she added.

The idea behind the program arose after the Polish Prisons Service and its Israeli counterpart agreed several months ago to cooperate in jointly restoring the Jewish cemetery in the city of Radom, 100 km. south of Warsaw.

“After that initiative was launched, we thought: Why limit it to Radom? Why not do it more generally throughout Poland?” explained Krawczyk, whose foundation is responsible for more than 1,100 Jewish cemeteries across the country, many of which are in dire need of repair.

“I think this agreement is a good and very constructive example to follow, because it is based on respect for history but is also directed to the future,” she said.

The refurbishing of Jewish burial grounds will be carried out under the supervision of the Polish Rabbinical Commission on Cemeteries, which is headed by Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich.

Memorial Plaque Unveiled At Former Synagogue In Przemysl

On June 23, 2009, an official ceremony took place in the city of Przemysl in Poland. A memorial plaque in three languages (Polish, Hebrew and English) was unveiled on the front of a building, which served as a synagogue for the town’s Jews prior to the Holocaust. Among the dozens of participants attending the ceremony were: Israel’s Ambassador to Poland Mr. Zvi Rav-Ner; Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund, who initiated the event; Monika Krawczyk, CEO of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland; a representative of the US Consulate General in Krakow, as well as members of the local city council and other official organizations in Poland.

The building originally housed the Przemysl New Synagogue, which was completed in 1910. It was also known as the Scheinbach synagogue, named after Moishe Scheinbach who initiated its construction. The synagogue served as a house of Jewish prayer until the Nazi invasion of Poland. After the war it was confiscated by the Polish Government and turned into a library.

Speaking at the ceremony, Michael Freund, Chairman of Shavei Israel, said: “I am deeply moved that after so many decades, a sign has finally been posted here on the front of this synagogue to remind everyone that Jews once prayed here, including my relatives. This is an important step towards ensuring that what happened to the Jews of Przemysl during the Holocaust will not be forgotten. I urge other Jews and Israelis whose families came from towns in Eastern Europe to become more involved in preserving what remains of the priceless Jewish heritage that once flourished there.”

Then, turning to the audience, Freund addressed Przemysl Deputy-Mayor Wieslaw Jurkiewicz directly, urging him to return other Jewish sites in the city, such as the Old Jewish cemetery and the grounds of the Old Synagogue, to the Jewish community. “Mr. Jurkiewicz, I appeal to you in the name of the Jews who once lived here and played such a central role in the development of Przemysl: restore these holy places to their rightful owners,” Freund said, adding, “We cannot change the past, but we can – and must – do it justice. The time has come for the city of Przemysl to return the Jewish communal property into its hands to the Jewish people.”

Przemysl

On June 22, 2009 a tablet commemorating the former Scheinbach Synagogue building (today the town library) will be unveiled in Przemysl. The ceremony will take place at the former synagogue at 15 Slowackiego St. It is anticipated that there will be hundreds of guests from Poland and abroad. The tablet is a joint initiative of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland and Mr. Michael Freund of Ra’anana in Israel.

Siedlce

On June 6, 2009, pieces of matzevot found in the gate of a tenement house on Pilsudskiego 14 St. in Siedlce were transported to the local Jewish cemetery. During the World War II the Germans used the matzevot from local Jewish cemeteries to pave the town’s main road.

Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland provided a transport and a supervision of the tombstone fragments return to the cemetery. The work was accomplished with the cooperation of the Town Office, Municipal Police and the students and teachers of Podlaska Academy who in 2008 carried cleaned the cemetery ground.

Leczna

A group, led by “Rainbow” Association of Homeless and Unemployed People in Leczna, in cooperation with Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, is cleaning the Jewish cemetery.

Bilgoraj

One of the Chumashim found in Bilgoraj

Recently 25 tombstones and fragments were found in the city of Bilgoraj. The Jewish cemetery in Bilgoraj had recently been in the news when a large section that had not been enclosed by a fence had been disturbed during a construction project. The construction had been stopped due to the protests of the Israeli-and-American-based survivor/descendent groups. Along with the matzevot a number of Chumashim and other Jewish books had been found. They were taken to the cemetery grounds and buried with all due respect.

Lublin

On June 4, 2009, a group of American Jewish students visited Lublin. Their plans included a visit at the Jewish cemetery, sightseeing at the Old Town and a meeting with the students of local Zofia Nalkowska High School No.7. After the meeting the students walked together to Majdanek. The meeting was organized by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland within the framework of the “To Bring Memory Back” educational program.

Bialystok

Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland assumed honorary patronage of “Zachor” Festival of Jewish Culture, which will take place in Bialystok from June 14-16, 2009. The festival is being organized by Poland-Israel Center for Citizenship Education in Bialystok and Jewish Religious Community in Warsaw.

Radom

From May 27-30, 2009 the second Jewish Culture Days took place in Radom, organized by the students of the Col. Dionizy Czachowski 3rd High School. The program included lectures, concerts, workshops, movie shows and exhibitions. Third High School is a member of the “To Bring Memory Back” educational program led by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland.

Reszow

Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland issued a protest letter to the President of Reszow due to the localization of an amusement park at the grounds of former Jewish cemetery near the synagogue in Reszow. The park was installed on a parking lot, built on the grounds of the non-existing cemetery, for the coming weekend by the organizers of the Carpathia Festival.

Zuromin

Restoration works are underway at the Jewish cemetery in Zuromin (Mazowiecie Province). Within its framework the cemetery will be fenced and cleaned up and a gate will also be built. A rededication ceremony will take place on July 15, 2009. This project is being realized by the Zuromin Jews Landsmanschaft from the USA and the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland.

Chrzanow

The police identified the culprits who vandalized the Jewish cemetery in Chrzanow in March 2009. Three local middle school students damaged about 60 matzevot. Total repair cost is estimated in dozens of thousands of zlotys. The youths are now facing charges against family court.